The effect of two types of memory training on subjective and objective memory performance in healthy individuals aged 55 years and older: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

The objective of the study was to examine the effectiveness of two types of memory training (collective and individual), compared to control (waiting list), on memory performance. Participants were 139 community-dwelling older individuals recruited through media advertisements asking for people with subjective memory complaints to participate in a study. Data were collected at baseline, and at 1 week and 4 months after the intervention. Training efficacy was assessed using measures of subjective and objective memory performance. After the intervention, participants in the collective training group reported more stability in memory functioning and had fewer feelings of anxiety and stress about memory functioning. In addition, positive effects were found on objective memory functioning. Compared with the other two groups, the collective training group participants had an improved recall of a previously learned word list. Compared to controls, participants in the individual training group reported fewer feelings of anxiety and stress in relation to memory functioning.

The impact of cognitive training and mental stimulation on cognitive and everyday functioning of healthy older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…However, participants who completed training within a group had significantly higher ratings of memory self-efficacy (Hastings and West, 2009). Significant intervention effects for memory self-efficacy (Hastings and West, 2009) and delayed recall were maintained at follow-up (Valentijn et al, 2005). There were no differences in transfer effects.…”

“…There were no differences between the groups on three measures of executive function (Hastings and West, 2009;Margrett and Willis, 2006;Valentijn et al, 2005), or on four out of five measures of subjective cognitive performance (Hastings and West, 2009;Valentijn et al, 2005). However, participants who completed training within a group had significantly higher ratings of memory self-efficacy (Hastings and West, 2009).…”

“…In individual studies (table 1), significant improvements were reported for cognitive training compared to no intervention in 19 of 26 memory outcome measures (Bailey et al, 2010;Bottiroli and Cavallini, 2009;Buiza et al, 2008;Cavallini et al, 2010;Cheng et al, 2012;Craik et al, 2007;Edwards et al, 2002;Fairchild and Scogin, 2010;Hastings and West, 2009;Jackson et al, 2012;Mahncke et al, 2006;Valentijn et al, 2005), in seven out of 16 measures of executive function (Ball et al, 2002;Buiza et al, 2008;Cheng et al, 2012;Craik et al, 2007;Edwards et al, 2002;Jackson et al, 2012;Mahncke et al, 2006;Margrett and Willis, 2006), and on both composite measures of cognitive function (Cheng et al, 2012;Mahncke et al, 2006). One trial found that reasoning training resulted in less self-reported decline in everyday functioning compared to control (Ball et al, 2002;Willis et al, 2006).…”

“…One trial found that reasoning training resulted in less self-reported decline in everyday functioning compared to control (Ball et al, 2002;Willis et al, 2006). For secondary outcomes, significant improvements were reported for training versus control in four out of six measures of subjective cognitive performance (Fairchild and Scogin, 2010;Hastings and West, 2009;Valentijn et al, 2005). Transfer of training effects were recorded in five out of seven trials: four reported transfer to untrained tasks within the same domain (Bottiroli and Cavallini, 2009;Cavallini et al, 2010;Cheng et al, 2012;Mahncke et al, 2006), one to other cognitive domains (Cheng et al, 2012), and one to everyday functioning (Ball et al, 2002).…”

“…Transfer of training effects were recorded in five out of seven trials: four reported transfer to untrained tasks within the same domain (Bottiroli and Cavallini, 2009;Cavallini et al, 2010;Cheng et al, 2012;Mahncke et al, 2006), one to other cognitive domains (Cheng et al, 2012), and one to everyday functioning (Ball et al, 2002). All seven trials that included follow-up assessments reported maintenance of training effects (Ball et al, 2002;Buiza et al, 2008;Cheng et al, 2012;Craik et al, 2007; Hastings and West, 2009;Mahncke et al, 2006;Valentijn et al, 2005).…”